Chapter 1061: Chapter 548: Extra Story: Li Chengyao’s Demands 1
So finding a partner to invest had already become a matter of urgency.
Outside, the sky was gloomy, as if it might come crashing down at any moment.
It was about to pour...
Alice Robinson thought irritably as she leaned her head back against the chair.
Staring at the slightly yellowed ceiling, realizing how old everything here was, she suddenly understood that time had slipped by quietly without her noticing.
She still remembered how, as a child, she loved it when her father lifted her up...
Once, her father was in the study, and she pestered him to hold her, so he lifted her high, letting her little hand touch that pristine white ceiling...
Back then she had a pencil in her hand; mischievous as she was, she used it to draw a flower on the ceiling, and that flower had remained there ever since...
Only now, the yellowing ceiling had gradually swallowed the pencil’s color, making everything feel like it belonged to another lifetime.
Alice silently took it all in, when suddenly the phone on the desk started ringing.
Hearing the shrill ring, Alice actually felt a flicker of fear, because lately, none of the news she heard ever seemed to be good.
In the end, she still picked up the phone.
"Miss, it’s Uncle Grant," Aunt PA answered in the hall and then transferred the call into the study.
"Mm, put it through."
Uncle Grant’s voice sounded a little worn out. "Miss, there’s trouble..."
Alice felt as if she had suddenly fallen into a dark vortex, darkness swallowing everything up in an instant...
Her body trembled slightly, and even the phone in her hand was hard to hold steady.
"Miss, the bank went over all of our vineyard’s profit statements and still refused to approve our loan... And today, Goldsmith Vineyard in the west, Kyro Vineyard, Haehlen Vineyard in the south, and Corolla Vineyard in the north, all four vineyards are in urgent need of funds. Otherwise, within one working day, they’ll have to halt production for lack of new capital. Once we finish selling the remaining red wine, it still won’t be enough to repay the loans we previously took from the bank..."
Alice could feel her palms drenched in sweat...
In all her life, this was the first time she had ever been this afraid.
The vast Robinson family estate was now in her hands alone; her decisions concerned everyone who worked themselves to the bone for the Robinsons...
Her fingers could barely keep a grip on the receiver. Forcing herself to suppress the fear, she spoke as calmly as she could, "We only have one working day?"
On the other end, Uncle Grant nodded. "There’s no more time." His voice carried exhaustion and sorrow. "Alice, I’ve followed David for over twenty years, and no matter how hard things got, he never once thought of abandoning the vineyard. I really don’t want to see it go under like this..."
Even though her hand was shaking on the receiver, even though she had no idea what to do, even though she didn’t want to face any of this at all, Alice drew in a deep breath and spoke steadily to the elder on the other end, "Uncle Grant, don’t worry. Within this week I will definitely find an investment partner. I won’t let the Robinson family’s business collapse in my hands."
Rachel came running in from outside. "Mommy..."
Aunt PA followed Rachel in, quietly reminding her, "Rachel, you can’t disturb your mommy, okay? Your mommy’s working..."
Alice’s train of thought was broken by the two voices.
She lifted her head from the chair back; she was just about to hug her daughter when the little girl had already flung herself against her legs, wrapping her arms around them. "Mommy..."
No matter how many worries she had, in front of her daughter, she could only choose to set them aside for the moment.
"Mm?"
Alice straightened up from the chair and lifted her daughter onto her lap.
"Mommy, play hide-and-seek with me, okay?"
Having gone a long time without her mother by her side, Rachel’s eyes were full of hope.
Knowing full well that refusing would disappoint her daughter, but at this moment truly having no time to keep her company, she said gently, "Why don’t you play with Grandma PA instead?"
Sure enough, the child’s head drooped, her little mouth pouting as she muttered, "I don’t want to... I want to play with Mommy."
"Be good, Mommy has work to do..."
Rachel wouldn’t give in; she ducked her head even lower, looking utterly aggrieved.
Aunt PA said, "Rachel, look, what’s this?"
Aunt PA brought over a Barbie doll, trying to distract Rachel’s attention.
"Shall we change Barbie’s clothes?" Aunt PA kept coaxing her.
However, not even her beloved Barbie could distract Rachel at a time like this...
Rachel only wanted Alice to stay with her.
In the end, unable to bear her child looking so pitiful, Alice chose to forget all her worries for the moment and said, "All right then, Mommy will play hide-and-seek with you..."
